{"id":9518,"date":"2021-09-15T15:32:55","date_gmt":"2021-09-15T05:32:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.askroz.com.au\/blog\/?p=9518"},"modified":"2021-09-16T11:19:17","modified_gmt":"2021-09-16T01:19:17","slug":"waratahs-in-the-blue-mountains","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.askroz.com.au\/blog\/waratahs-in-the-blue-mountains\/","title":{"rendered":"Waratahs in the Blue Mountains"},"content":{"rendered":"

Updated: 15th September 2021<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

Blue Mountains National Park is home to not just one, but eight species of Waratah, along with forests of eucalyptus trees and stunning views across the New South Wales countryside.<\/p>\n

There are many places in Blue Mountains where you can see waratahs in their natural habitat. One great spot is on Kings Tablelands Road, Wentworth Falls. Drive down as far as Battleship Tops from early September to mid October. Check out the Fire Trail “Red Ridge Trail”. Drive down it for about 150m. Here: https:\/\/w3w.co\/response.recreating.drama<\/a><\/p>\n

Waratahs are a perennial plant native to Australia, but they were introduced to California in 1853 and have since been cultivated across North America. They\u2019re also found in Southern Europe, New Zealand, South Africa and even Japan.<\/p>\n

\"Waratahs<\/a><\/p>\n

Waratah are often confused with their more common cousins, but are easy to differentiate by looking at their flowers. Waratah have five petals while other members of their family have only four. They\u2019re also larger than other members of their family and produce multiple purple flowers on each stem, instead of clusters or single blossoms. Waratah are native to Australia, mostly inhabiting Queensland and New South Wales. The Blue Mountains is a mountainous region west of Sydney. The range stretches about 100 km (62 miles) from Katoomba in the north to Bell in its southern end. It forms part of the Great Dividing Range, separating eastern coastal regions from western plains.<\/p>\n

History<\/u><\/h3>\n

Waratahs feature in Aboriginal legend, like the D’harawal story about how the white waratah became red<\/a>. The flexible, new-growth branches were used by early European settlers for basket making and by blacksmiths to wrap around their implements when working with hot iron. <\/p>\n

The first written record of the plant\u2019s Aboriginal name \u2018Waratah\u2019 which means \u2018red-flowering tree,\u2019 was made in the notebooks of the First Fleet’s Lieutenant William Dawes. The botanical name \u2018telopea\u2019 means \u2018seen from afar,\u2019 and \u2018speciosissima\u2019 means ‘most beautiful’. <\/p>\n

More info<\/strong>: https:\/\/www.bluemountainsbotanicgarden.com.au\/plants\/gardening\/wild-about-waratahs<\/a><\/p>\n